Should Brighton, Walsall and Accrington Stanley be wary of the play-offs after missing out on automatic promotion on the final day of the season? Brighton and Walsall finished third in the Championship and League One respectively while Accrington ended up fourth in League Two - where there are three automatic promotion places.The trio will now enter the play-offs as the highest-ranked teams in their respective divisions, but is that a positive? Since the introduction of the play-offs in 1987 there have been several examples of teams missing out on promotion after finishing well ahead of their rivals in the regular season.In recent years, Watford, Nottingham Forest and Ipswich have failed to win promotion after finishing third in the Championship. Highlights of the clash for promotion between Middlesbrough and Brighton Sheffield United failed to make it up from League One in 2011/12 after finishing on 90 points, nine clear of Huddersfield in fourth and 17 clear of sixth-placed Stevenage.But is it really a curse to finish in third? The stats suggest otherwise.In fact, 39.50% of the teams that have finished in the top play-off place across the three divisions have been promoted.Only 21% of teams in the second play-off spot have been successful while those in the bottom two places go up 19.80% of the time. Positions of teams promoted in play-offs Position Championship League One League Two Total Percentage 3rd (4th in L2) 10 9 13 32 39.50% 4th (5th in L2) 5 7 5 17 21% 5th (6th in L2) 7 5 4 16 19.80% 6th (7th in L2) 5 6 5 16 19.80% Brighton, who finished 15 points ahead of sixth-placed Sheffield Wednesday, should be buoyed by the fact that 37% of the sides who have finished third in the Championship have gone up.In comparison, those finishing fourth (18.50%), fifth (25.90%) and sixth (18.50%) have not fared as well.Norwich, West Ham and Swansea have won promotion to the Premier League in recent seasons after ending up third in the second tier. Where have Championship play-off winners finished in table? Position Total Percentage 3rd (Brighton this season) 10 37% 4th (Hull this season) 5 18.50% 5th (Derby this season) 7 25.90% 6th (Sheff Wed this season) 5 18.50% In League One, where Walsall finished third this season, the play-offs have proved more unpredictable.Teams in third have gone up 33.30% of the time, a slightly better success rate than those in fourth (25.90%), fifth (18.50%) and sixth (22.20%).But Accrington have more reason to be cheerful. Almost half (48.10%) of the teams that have finished fourth in League Two have gone up through the play-offs. Walsall thumped Port Vale on the final day but still missed out on second place Those in fifth (18.50%), sixth (14.80%) and seventh (18.50%) have not enjoyed anywhere near as much success.However, while the stats do dispel the curse of third, only once, in 2007/08, have all three of the highest-finishing teams enjoyed success in the play-offs, with Hull, Doncaster and Stockport going up.Who will win promotion this year from the play-offs? Watch all the games live on Sky Sports. Also See: FL play-offs: Who, when, where? Weekend ups and downs Middlesbrough win promotion Live on Sky MEXICO CITY -- The party in the stands started early in the second NFL regular season game ever played in Mexico with loud cheers and chants from before kickoff until the final whistle. The Oakland offense took a little longer to get going, but once they did Derek Carr and the Raiders came out with yet another win.Carr woke up a struggling offense by throwing two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter as the Raiders capped a successful trip to Mexico with a 27-20 victory over the Houston Texans on Monday night.We got punched in the mouth, Carr said. We werent doing things the way we usually want to do things executing wise. But there was no doubt in anybodys mind that wed come back and win the football game.Oakland had been held to 120 yards through three quarters with the running game going nowhere and Carr finding few open receivers downfield. But that suddenly changed in the fourth quarter to give the Raiders (8-2) their fourth straight win for the first time since 2002 .With star receiver Amari Cooper lined up in the backfield, Carr found fullback Jamize Olawale open for a 75-yard catch and run that tied Houston (6-4) at 20.We felt like that was the momentum shifter, Cooper said.Then Oakland took advantage on two questionable spots by the officials to take over on downs at the 15 and drove 85 yards in five plays to take the lead on a 35-yard pass to Cooper to send the Texans to their fourth loss in five games outside of Houston.Very tough loss, defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney said. We should have won the game, we are trying to win every game. You dont leave the game in the refs hands.That set off loud celebrations from the pro-Raiders crowd of 76,743 in the second regular season game ever played in Mexico. What was originally scheduled as an Oakland home game featured Raiders music during stoppages, Tommie Smith lighting the Al Davis torch in a memorable return to Mexico City nearly a half-century after his Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics and frequent RAI-DERS! chants.While the atmosphere was electric, the field was a bit slippery leading to some falls and the high elevation 7,380 feet above sea level played a factor. The Raiders needed to use a timeout on defensse at one point in the fourth to catch their breath and receiver Michael Crabtree was seen gasping for breath at one point.ddddddddddddTo be able to play here was amazing, Carr said. Theres so much history, so much rowdiness. I love soccer and it gave me a kind of soccer feel.CLOSE SPOTS: The Texans were upset on two spots on the fourth-quarter drive before Oakland went ahead. On third-and-2, Lamar Miller was stopped just short of the first down even though Houston believed he got it. Coach Bill OBrien went for it on fourth down but Akeem Hunt was stopped about an inch short on fourth down and the play stood after a replay challenge.LASER SHOW: Houston QB Brock Osweiler had to deal with an unusual distraction during the game as a fan with a green laser frequently shined it on the Houston quarterback as he dropped back to pass in an act more familiar in soccer games played here than in NFL games. That wasnt the only soccer tradition imported for this game. Fans also used a homophobic chant on kickoffs. Mexicos soccer federation has been punished by FIFA in the past for the chant during World Cup qualifiers. Fans threw paper airplanes on the field in the third quarter with Oaklands Sean Smith taking a turn throwing one that reached the field during a break.STREAK BROKEN: Carr had thrown 170 straight passes without an interception before getting picked by A.J. Bouye on a deep ball on the first play from scrimmage in the second half. It was Carrs fourth interception of the season and the first since Kansas Citys Marcus Peters got one Oct. 16.INTERNATIONAL SCORER: With his extra point in the second quarter, Oaklands Sebastian Janikowski scored a point in his third country, having previously done it in the United States and United Kingdom. Joe Nedney is the only other player to score in Mexico, the U.S. and the U.K. Five other players have scored in Canada, the U.K. and the U.S.: running back Steven Jackson and kickers Robbie Gould, Matt Bryant, Dan Carpenter and Jay Feely.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '